https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Wed, 22 Apr 2026 05:44:33 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-you-blow-your-house-purchasing-budget/page/2#post-900230 Tue, 02 Jul 2013 06:09:17 +0000 GrapeCrush 900230@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>we went under...DH wouldn't allow me to even look at houses that weren't within our budget...I tried to reason with him that we could try to negotiate within our budget...no dice! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-you-blow-your-house-purchasing-budget/page/2#post-900179 Tue, 02 Jul 2013 01:08:47 +0000 SugarplumsMom 900179@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We also went under. There could be so many unexpected expenses and fixes the first year, it's impossible to stay afloat if you don't factor that in. For instance, we had to replace our chimney all the sudden. It could have been worse, so we budgeted for the crazy unexpected and went on a no-spending spree that first year, just in case! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-you-blow-your-house-purchasing-budget/page/2#post-900121 Mon, 01 Jul 2013 23:07:46 +0000 erwoo 900121@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Honestly, we didn't really have a budget? I think? Not that we made a ton of money, but combined we made a good amount. I can't seem to remember how we decided? I think we got pre-approved and then went house hunting based on that amount plus whatever down payment we had set aside to buy a house. We were also selling my husband's condo at the same time hoping to add more to our down payment since he made money on his condo. We probably could have got a smaller house and paid less but I just didn't want to move again. Who knew we would be moving to Asia for a few years. :P Anyway, it all worked out and we were still comfortable. Then when my old company closed our office here and I just found out I was pregnant with #1 we decided that I would stay home. In hindsight, maybe we should have just bought a smaller home or a townhouse so we can save more money for our kids' education but I dare not tell my husband that now! :P Hopefully once I go back to work later I can help contribute to their savings. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-you-blow-your-house-purchasing-budget#post-900120 Mon, 01 Jul 2013 23:05:59 +0000 chibee 900120@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We were approved for more than what we bought our house for, but I was really concerned about our monthly mortgage so we tried to stay within budget. Definitely had help from DH's parents though, they gifted us the money and we were able to buy a nice house with a reasonable monthly mortgage in the neighborhood of our choice. I'm already thinking ahead for our next purchase (only bought this house last year) since I know this is somewhat of a starter house because of the size.. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-you-blow-your-house-purchasing-budget#post-900118 Mon, 01 Jul 2013 23:01:24 +0000 Mrs. Sunglasses 900118@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We went a little over because we could not find something in the budget I had set (which probably wasn't realistic) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-you-blow-your-house-purchasing-budget#post-900097 Mon, 01 Jul 2013 22:30:20 +0000 Mrs. Jacks 900097@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We went over budget... well, that's not technically true as we didn't really have a budget... but we just put less down and it wasn't a problem. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-you-blow-your-house-purchasing-budget#post-900083 Mon, 01 Jul 2013 22:11:27 +0000 MsLipGloss 900083@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@LMOG47: I know . . . conflict of interest much?! And yeah . . .cleaning . . . I don't even want to think about that! I have a tough enough time as is! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-you-blow-your-house-purchasing-budget#post-900075 Mon, 01 Jul 2013 22:06:39 +0000 Caly 900075@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@MsLipGloss: Ugh so annoying! Seems to be a common theme with realtors. I understand they're commission, but good grief, they're not the ones paying the mortgage!</p> <p>eta: the thought of just cleaning a house that size makes me shudder! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-you-blow-your-house-purchasing-budget#post-900071 Mon, 01 Jul 2013 22:03:33 +0000 MsLipGloss 900071@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@LMOG47: We had the same issue (at first) with our realtor . . . he kept wanting to show us properties that we could afford, but were way more than we wanted to spend. Lol!</p> <p>ETA: And while I we really could afford more house, what the heck am I gonna do with 5,ooo (or more!) square feet?! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-you-blow-your-house-purchasing-budget#post-900060 Mon, 01 Jul 2013 21:58:44 +0000 Caly 900060@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@runnerd: Amen to that! And our realtor repeatedly tried to persuade us to go higher, telling us "but the bank approved you for such &amp; such." Yeaaa...no thanks! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-you-blow-your-house-purchasing-budget#post-899880 Mon, 01 Jul 2013 20:15:31 +0000 mlm2934 899880@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@PurplePeony: @LMOG47: it's crazy how much the banks will tell people they can "afford" - if we bought the $$ house they think we could afford, we'd be broke as a joke. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-you-blow-your-house-purchasing-budget#post-898857 Mon, 01 Jul 2013 13:46:38 +0000 deactivated_account 898857@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We couldn't go over our budget because we couldn't get approved for any more. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-you-blow-your-house-purchasing-budget#post-898812 Mon, 01 Jul 2013 13:31:06 +0000 LuLu Mom 898812@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We are at the top part of our decided apon budget, however we were way under what we could afford. We knew it was our starter home so instead of going all out with the max of what we could actually afford, we did reasonable so we can build our dream home in the near future. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-you-blow-your-house-purchasing-budget#post-898806 Mon, 01 Jul 2013 13:29:33 +0000 looch 898806@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@mrs. wagon: I hear you completely. That's what sucks, doesn't it? It's like hoping all the stars, planets and universes align at the precise moment where it all makes perfect financial sense!</p> <p>Oh, and you know something, I am a pessimist, so I hate every house I've ever looked at! It's like I can see the worst in everything, totally helps keep me in check, esp. with budget and resale! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-you-blow-your-house-purchasing-budget#post-898801 Mon, 01 Jul 2013 13:28:20 +0000 mrs. wagon 898801@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@looch: prices are definitely going up, as are mortgage interest rates, which is why it's so difficult to make this decision. We bought at the peak of the market the last time we bought, so we really wanted to get our purchase in before things rose again. And in 2 years they might just be there again. But I guess we'll just have to re-evaluate once that time comes. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-you-blow-your-house-purchasing-budget#post-898790 Mon, 01 Jul 2013 13:23:35 +0000 looch 898790@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@mrs. wagon: I think you've made a good decision. Without knowing numbers, it's hard for any of us to say what solution is the best though.</p> <p>I just hope for your sake that home prices don't go up a lot in the meantime...it's beginning here, in CT. Prices are going up, not a huge amount, but enough to make a difference. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-you-blow-your-house-purchasing-budget#post-898781 Mon, 01 Jul 2013 13:19:15 +0000 mrs. wagon 898781@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@regberadaisy: yup! We're glad we sold so that we DO have that luxury of being able to jump if a bargain comes up. We've just now set the expectation that our budget is low now and will be higher in 2 years. :) :heart: </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-you-blow-your-house-purchasing-budget#post-898763 Mon, 01 Jul 2013 13:14:45 +0000 regberadaisy 898763@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@mrs. wagon: I think that is a wise choice. &lt;3 And you should keep looking meanwhile! Who knows, something ah-mazing within your budget might pop up! You never know. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-you-blow-your-house-purchasing-budget#post-898755 Mon, 01 Jul 2013 13:13:08 +0000 Caly 898755@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>When we bought we were approved for way more than we were willing to spend. We bought based on what we could comfortably spend on one salary instead of our combined salaries, we never wanted to be house poor. We also didn't look at any homes over our price point since we knew we'd fall in love. 8 years later, we've gone from two salaries to one &amp; have twins on the way. I'm very happy we didn't budge. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-you-blow-your-house-purchasing-budget#post-898681 Mon, 01 Jul 2013 12:54:37 +0000 PurplePeony 898681@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We didn't max out our budget, but I still wish we'd paid less. Our original PITI payment was about 16% of our gross income and the bank would have lent us much more. BUT the taxes went up pretty significantly the following year and are slated to go up even more next year. I expected some incremental increases but so far it seems just crazy. If we'd maxed out or blown our budget, I think we'd be heading toward a pretty unhappy situation... </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-you-blow-your-house-purchasing-budget#post-898617 Mon, 01 Jul 2013 12:40:32 +0000 mrs. wagon 898617@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@regberadaisy: my parents provided our first down payment when we bought our condo 8 years ago, so we have that, but it's not an option for either of our parents to gift us money this time around.</p> <p>Blowing our budget is just not feasible for us, with our expenses rising in the next 2 years for double daycare costs, so I think we're gonna stay put and take advantage of these next 2 years to really get our finances rock solid... then shop for a house with a great down payment and very little debt (only school loans)! That way we will have a definite budget that will hopefully get us what we want, and where we want it, and we don't have to worry about not being able to afford it. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-you-blow-your-house-purchasing-budget#post-898516 Mon, 01 Jul 2013 12:11:56 +0000 Modern Daisy 898516@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>When we bought our apt, my parents provided the down payment and we were able to negotiate the price down enough to keep our monthlies under what we had budgeted. Haha, then we did our taxes two months later and realized that not only did we owe the IRS 1/2 of our savings - but we weren't deducting enough from our paychecks and had to completely redo our budgeting/finances. So after the fact, our 'under budget' situation became waaay over budget. We compensated by getting rid of unnecessary expenses like gym memberships, cable, etc. and now thankfully with those scale-backs and our raises this year we are doing much better. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-you-blow-your-house-purchasing-budget#post-898508 Mon, 01 Jul 2013 12:08:58 +0000 yoursilverlining 898508@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@lisa1783: Totally agree with you about "needs" vs. "wants" and not raiding a 401k. If you do borrow from a 401k, you have to repay it; so you would also need to factor that into a new budget as well. It's definitely not like a savings account or "free money"! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-you-blow-your-house-purchasing-budget#post-898496 Mon, 01 Jul 2013 12:05:03 +0000 lisa1783 898496@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We bought a house that was under our budget but we had a ton of renovations that we needed and we ended up borrowing money from our parents for that. If you can borrow it without issues from your parents, maybe you can do that. But if not, I definitely would not raid from your 401k. You NEED that for your future, you don't NEED a house out of your budget right now. That's Suze Orman's first tip: differentiate between needs and wants. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-you-blow-your-house-purchasing-budget#post-898476 Mon, 01 Jul 2013 11:54:00 +0000 mlm2934 898476@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We were waaaayyyy under budget on our latest house purchase - it was part of the reason we moved back to our hometown - lower cost of living, while keeping our comparatively good-paying jobs as work from home.</p> <p>on our first house though, we both took out 401k loans, and got a $5k gift from his parents toward down-payment. Obviously we regret those decisions considering that we went the complete opposite way this time :) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-you-blow-your-house-purchasing-budget#post-898400 Mon, 01 Jul 2013 11:33:48 +0000 yoursilverlining 898400@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We didn't go over budget, and didn't even look at homes over budget so I wouldn't fall in love with something we couldn't really comfortably afford. </p> <p>We also bought what we could comfortably afford on only one income; layoffs are too common these days and we didn't want to stretch ourselves too thinly with kids. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-you-blow-your-house-purchasing-budget#post-898398 Mon, 01 Jul 2013 11:32:54 +0000 spaniellove 898398@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I'll be totally honest, our purchase price was within the range we set but there have been surprises. We budgeted for some renovations and knew about the property taxes. What took us by surprise though was the insane maintenance this house required. We bought in a neighborhood where homes are very well kept up, and within the last year we've had to do a new roof, rip out and redo the whole irrigation system, redo our deck, reseal a balcony, and redo our front landscaping. It didn't devastate us, but we've had to watch our budget and we probably could have done another round of IVF by now if we didn't have those expenses. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-you-blow-your-house-purchasing-budget#post-898352 Mon, 01 Jul 2013 11:19:49 +0000 Shutterbug 898352@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We bought our house at the top of our budget 6 years ago. The mortgage payment was tight for a few years, but then we started moving up in our careers (bought at 24 years old) so our incomes went up, and last year we refinanced via the HARP program (for underwater mortgages). Now we make 1.5x more than we used to, and our mortgage payment is 25% lower, so we're comfortable, finally. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-you-blow-your-house-purchasing-budget#post-898218 Mon, 01 Jul 2013 10:45:44 +0000 Alivoo01 898218@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Our tentative budget was 30k less than what we could really afford. We wanted to leave some room for renovations and upgrade (if needed). In the end, we ended up purchasing a home at the +30k amount that needed renovations. D'oh!! We've been slowly working on those renovations, but it was a home we prefered over the homes we looked at that were cheaper. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-you-blow-your-house-purchasing-budget#post-898188 Mon, 01 Jul 2013 10:38:35 +0000 HLK208 898188@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We went over a little bit. We say our max was a certain number and the house we loved was $1k under. Then someone tried to purchase the house and added a lot of upgrades, but it went back on the market for $5k over our budget. We ended up purchasing the house for $8k over because the builder was only willing to pay half of closing costs so the rest were wrapped in our loan.</p> <p>We got pre-approved for quite a bit more but in no way would it have been able to afford more than what we are paying. </p>